From Under the Snow

Product Description
When seventeen-year-old Jude sees his coach's handwritten note on the bulletin board offering two free tickets to the Rose Bowl, he thinks his small-town life as a preacher’s kid is suddenly about to change for the better. Rather than being buried in the bleak Minnesota winter, he and a friend could be on their way to sunny California. But as Jude and his friend Stick set out to hitchhike Route 66, they soon realize they’ve embarked on more than a road trip. As the teens encounter a series of trials that test their fortitude and challenge their beliefs, they are forced to evaluate what really matters and whether freedom is possible. A story of friendship and discovery written in the vein of The Catcher in the Rye, David Beck’s novel addresses the larger questions of life through the fresh and fervent eyes of youthful angst.
Review
-- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
 

Picture a Catcher in the Rye with a Kerouac-like road trip of psychological and sexual discovery in 1961 as Jude and his friend, Stick, undertake a hitchhiking journey on Route 66, only to find that the romance of the road is offset by the realities of its trials and tribulations, turning the trip into a test of their friendship and what they value as individuals. For full review, visit fromunderthesnow.com.


-- Kai White, Forward Reviews
 
From snowy Minnesota to sunny California, encountering both rough and generous people--the "road warts" and "Marmalade" trick turners--the two seventeen-year-old virgins navigate with a naive optimism; affording serendipity only fiction can deliver. For full review, visit fromunderthesnow.com.


-- Kritine Hall, Blogger, Kristinehallways.blogspot.com
 
As the two young men make their way across the country, author David Beck provides a colorful cast of characters, richly detailed experiences, and a generous slice of Americana with numerous pop culture references and current events from 1961. Readers of any age will easily slide back into that era, marveling in the mindsets and simplicity of the times. For full review, visit fromunderthesnow.com.
About the Author
David Beck was born in Minnesota and now lives with his wife in a small town overlooking the Pacific Ocean just south of San Francisco. He makes frequent and extended trips around the world, encountering people with sharply divided worldviews on religion, politics, and family life. A subject he explores in his upcoming novel. For more on the author, including a preview, reviews, comments, and travel blog, visit www.fromunderthesnow.com.